Neuhaus Castle

Neuhaus Castle stands on the Kühberg in the Gnigl district of Salzburg and was formerly part of a fortification system that stretched over today's Eichstraße to Kapuzinerberg.

Neuhaus Castle was probably built at the beginning of the 13th or end of the 12th century. Chunradus de nova domo (Konrad von Neuhaus) is first mentioned in 1219. At the beginning of the 14th century, the castle came into the possession of the Prince-Archbishopric and was expanded into a fortified summer residence in 1424 under Archbishop Eberhard III. von Neuhaus.

In 1508, Neuhaus became the seat of a district court. However, by 1599, the building was so dilapidated that the district administrator (judge) moved to the village of Gnigl. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle played a very important role in conjunction with the Gnigler Schanze and Franziskischlössl in defending the city and its surroundings. After 1650, the castle was made habitable again for the district court. In 1695, a lightning strike and subsequent fire caused extensive damage, and the court's seat had to move again.

Oswald Graf Thun initially rented the castle in 1796 and then acquired it in 1811. From 1851 onwards, various neo-Gothic – historicizing decorations were added.

After 1861, Wolfgang Freiherr von Thienen-Adlerflycht received the castle as a gift on the occasion of his marriage to Anna Gräfin von Thun. Soon after, his relative Adolf Graf Dubsky bought the castle. This count was a half-brother of Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, née Gräfin Dubsky, who was a frequent guest at Neuhaus Castle.

The castle consists of the mighty residential tower, an elongated residential building, and the former servants' wing, which are surrounded by a fortified enclosure, provided with battlements in the 19th century by the then owner Oswald Graf Thun. Access to the castle is from the south. The old residential tower, which dates back to the 13th century and was raised to five stories after 1400, has also been crowned with battlements since the 19th century. A few decades ago, many historicizing additions were removed again. A marble plaque in the castle courtyard above the door to the staircase, originating from the former Einödhof in Morzg, shows an angel with the coat of arms of Count (not the archbishop of the same name!) Johann Ernst von Thun.